High-capacity and low-cost energy storage systems are required for a plethora of emerging green technologies, including plug-in electric vehicles and large-scale renewable energy storage for smartgrids. Advanced lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are currently regarded as the most feasible systems to satisfy the challenges faced by the energy storage sector; however shortcomings such as high costs and limited energy and power density are restricting their application. Advanced materials, with novel and cost-effective fabrication procedures, are required to overcome these challenges and open up new and exciting markets.
An area of intense research in the field of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is that of the anode. Since commercialization, graphitic carbon has been the anode material of choice due to its relatively low cost and reasonable performance (maximum theoretical capacity of 372 mAhg−1). With the rapid growth of power hungry smart-phones and other portable electronics, as well as the growing electric vehicle and hybrid-electric vehicle markets, however, there is a substantial drive to develop new anode materials with higher energy densities and improved electrochemical performances. One of the most active areas is on the development of porous carbon and carbon composite materials.
Porous carbon materials may be prepared by templating methods using polymeric gels, hard templates such as silica spheres, porous inorganic scaffold, and particles leaching, or soft templates such as emulsion templating, polymer spheres, and foaming processes. Commercialization of the materials and processes has been restricted, however, due to high costs and complexities associated with fabrication and subsequent removal of the templating agents.
In view of the above, there is a need for an improved method to obtain a porous carbon material which overcomes or alleviates one or more of the above-mentioned problems.